Method and system for distributing pvr functionalities

ABSTRACT

A system for distributing PVR functionalities is disclosed. The system includes: a server device, having PVR functionalities, for receiving a multimedia data and performing at least a specific PVR function on the multimedia data in response to a specific request signal; and a client device, coupled to the server device, for playing the multimedia data and for sending the specific request signal to request the server device to perform the specific PVR function.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to performing PVR functions, and moreparticularly, to a method and system that can distribute PVRfunctionalities from one device to another.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Digital television systems receive data and buffer the data in astorage, which is accessed during playback modes. Therefore, when datais being viewed on a digital system there is a slight time delay betweenthe time data is received and the time it is viewed. This ‘time shift’between record and playback processes allows for a variety of processesto be carried out on the data.

Trick mode operations involve manipulation of data, such as freezeframe, scheduled recording, and management of data files. Theseoperations are known as PVR functions, and are typically limited to theserver device where a data signal is received. If the data signal istransmitted to another device, i.e. a client device, a user can onlyview the data signal as it is transmitted, and cannot perform said PVRfunctions on the data signal. Therefore, a novel scheme is needed todistribute PVR functionalities from the server device to the clientdevice to meet user's demands.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore one aim of the present invention to provide a systemthat can distribute PVR functionalities to a client device, wherein auser can perform trick mode operations at the client device.

Briefly described, a system for distributing PVR functionalitiescomprises: a server device, having PVR functionalities, for receiving amultimedia data and performing at least a specific PVR function on themultimedia data in response to a specific request signal; and a clientdevice, coupled to the server device, for playing the multimedia dataand for sending the specific request signal to request the server deviceto perform the specific PVR function.

A method for distributing PVR functionalities is also disclosed. Themethod comprises: at a first location, receiving a multimedia data andperforming at least a specific PVR function on the multimedia data inresponse to a specific request signal; at a second location, playing themultimedia data and generating a specific request signal; and sendingthe specific request signal from the second location to the firstlocation for requesting the specific PVR function performed on themultimedia data.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt becomeobvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system for distributing PVR functionalitiesaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system 300 fordistributing PVR functionalities according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. In this embodiment, the system 300 comprises a serverdevice 10, a first playing device 20, a client device 30, a secondplaying device 40, a Home Networking LAN 50, and a storage device 60.The server device 10 is responsible for receiving a multimedia datasignal from a multimedia source (e.g. a TV program provider). Thismultimedia data signal may be a broadcast signal, a UPnP signal or avideo on demand (VOD) signal. The server device 10 has PVRfunctionality. In FIG. 1 the server device 10 is contained in a firstroom 100. The client device 30 is contained in a second room 200. Inthis embodiment, the client device 30 does not have PVR functionality.The server device 10 and the client device 30 are connected by means ofthe Home Networking LAN 50. It should be noted that any communicationsnetwork service capable of linking the server device 10 and the clientdevice 30 can be utilized as the Home Networking LAN 50. The serverdevice 10 and the client device 30 are respectively coupled to the firstplaying device 20 and the second playing device 40 for playing themultimedia data. In FIG. 1 the first playing device 20 and the secondplaying device 40 are television monitors, however, please note thatthis is not a limitation of the present invention and they can be anydevices capable of playing multimedia data.

The server device 10 further comprises an electronic program guide(EPG), which contains information relating to the received multimediadata. For example, if the multimedia data is a broadcast televisionsignal, such as a DTV signal, then the EPG will contain informationrelating to the television programs scheduled for that day.Conventionally, a user will browse the EPG at the server device 10 forperforming the PVR functions. In this embodiment, the server device 10will send the EPG to the client device 30 utilizing UPnP protocol. Asthe client device 30 also supports the UPnP protocol, the client device30 can receive and display the EPG. A user can therefore browse the EPGat the client device 30 and select an EPG item from the EPG displayed onthe second playing device 40. The user can further utilize a remotecontrol 35 to select a PVR function they wish to perform on the selectedEPG item. For example, the remote control 35 has a button labeled as‘RECORD’ for activating a scheduled recording function for a specificselected EPG item (i.e. a selected TV program), and another buttonlabeled as ‘Time Shift’ for activating a time shift function for aspecific selected EPG item (i.e. a selected TV program). This selectionactivates a request signal, which is then sent to the server device 10via the Home Networking LAN 50. In this embodiment, a Simple ObjectAccess Protocol (SOAP) is utilized to transmit the request signal; inother words, the request signal is sent as a SOAP signal, with theselected EPG item as the parameter. The server device 10 utilizes theSOAP signal to send the requested program to the client device 30, butalso sends the signal to a storage device 60. Therefore, when a userwishes to perform trick mode operations on the streamed data, therequest signal sent by the client device 30 will instruct the serverdevice 10 to access the content in the storage device 60, therebysupporting the trick mode operations. In this way, the client device 30can support PVR functionalities. Please note that since operation ofthese PVR functionalities mentioned in this disclosure is well known tothose skilled in this art, further description is omitted for brevity.

The system 300 can also utilize this feature to perform file managementat the client device 30. As the EPG is sent to the client device 30utilizing UPnP protocol, the client device 30 can manage these filesstored in the storage device 60 utilizing SOAP methods. In order todistinguish these methods from other UPnP allowed operations, the clientdevice 30 can be configured to distinguish between PVR files andordinary UPnP media files.

Please note that the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is only forillustrative purposes, and is not meant to be taken as a limitation ofthe present invention. For example, in another embodiment, the storagedevice 60 is embedded in the server device 10 for saving the bandwidthoccupation of the Home Networking LAN 50. In addition, these PVRfunctionalities mentioned above, i.e. the scheduled recording operation,the time shift operation, and the PVR media management, are forillustrative purposes. The disclosed PVR functionality distributionscheme can be applied to any PVR functionalities. Similarly, the presentinvention is not limited to the aforementioned signal transferprotocols; in other words, assuming the same result is substantiallyachieved, the present invention is allowed to adopt other signaltransfer protocols to implement the disclosed PVR functionalitydistribution scheme. Moreover, in the above embodiment, the clientdevice 30 is defined to have no PVR functionalities. However, this isnot meant to be a limitation of the present invention. For example, in acase where the client device 30 originally supports a first PVR functionbut not a second PVR function, the client device 30 can send a requestsignal to the server device 10 for requesting execution of the secondPVR function. The same objective of distributing PVR functionalities isachieved. All of these alternative designs fall in the scope of thepresent invention.

The present invention enables PVR functionalities to be distributed toany device connected by a home networking connection. A user can view amultimedia data on a device in a separate location from a server device,and still be able to perform PVR operations on the multimedia data. Thisgreatly increases the flexibility of a digital server system, and aids auser both in terms of convenience and economy.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the abovedisclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and boundsof the appended claims.

1. A system for distributing PVR functionalities, the system comprising:a server device, having PVR functionalities, for receiving a multimediadata and performing at least a specific PVR function on the multimediadata in response to a specific request signal; and a client device,coupled to the server device, for playing the multimedia data and forsending the specific request signal to request the server device toperform the specific PVR function.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein aresultant multimedia data generated by the specific PVR function istransmitted to the client device by the server device, and then theclient device plays the resultant multimedia data.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the multimedia data is a TV program data, the serverdevice further delivers an electronic program guide (EPG) of the TVprogram data to the client device, and the client device references theEPG to send the specific request signal.
 4. The system of claim 3,wherein the client device sends the specific request signal utilizing aSimple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).
 5. The system of claim 4, whereinan EPG item selected at the client device is utilized as a parameter forthe specific request signal sent to the server device.
 6. The system ofclaim 2, wherein the specific PVR function requested by the specificrequest signal is a scheduled recording operation or a time shiftoperation.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the specific PVR functionrequested by the specific request signal is a PVR media managementoperation.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the specific request signalis sent in response to a user command.
 9. The system of claim 1, whereinthe client device has no PVR functionality.
 10. A method fordistributing PVR functionalities, the method comprising: at a firstlocation, receiving a multimedia data and performing at least a specificPVR function on the multimedia data in response to a specific requestsignal; at a second location, playing the multimedia data and generatinga specific request signal; and sending the specific request signal fromthe second location to the first location for requesting the specificPVR function performed on the multimedia data.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the step of requesting the specific PVR function performedon the multimedia data further comprises: sending a resultant multimediadata from the first location to the second location; and playing theresultant multimedia data at the second location.
 12. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the multimedia data is a TV program data, the step ofreceiving the multimedia data further comprises delivering an electronicprogram guide (EPG) to the second location, and the step of generatingthe specific request signal further comprises: referencing the EPG togenerate the specific request signal.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the specific request signal is sent utilizing a Simple ObjectAccess Protocol (SOAP).
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the step ofreferencing the EPG to generate the specific request signal furthercomprises: selecting a specific EPG item as a parameter for the specificrequest signal.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the specific PVRfunction requested by the specific request signal is a scheduledrecording operation or a time shift operation.
 16. The method of claim10, wherein the specific PVR function requested by the specific requestsignal is a PVR media management operation.
 17. The method of claim 10,wherein the specific request signal is sent in response to a usercommand.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein no PVR function can beperformed at the second location.